Are platforms like Squarespace, Wix, and Shopify worth the hassle?

perspective from a developer looking at it for what it is

Wix, Squarespace, Shopify — if you’ve ever watched some sort of tech-related video on YouTube, you would have heard these names in some form. They stalk you through various ad formats, trying to rope you with promises of being ‘code-free’, ‘easy’, ‘revolutionary’, and ‘most advanced platform’ in web development.

But as developers, we know better.

Over the years, I’ve tried my best to block these ads, but to no avail. Over the years, I’ve also had people ask me why I still bother to code if there’s Wix, Shopify, and Squarespace — which feels like a slap in the face.

In the past decade, code has become commoditized and cheap, creating large gaps in making a living wage and what the average Joe is now willing to pay. This creates a unique problem for freelance developers — how do you entice clients to spend when there’s an advertisement that bombards anyone thinking about getting a website at every turn?

What Wix, Shopify, and Squarespace actually are

For non-developers, Wix, Shopify, Squarespace, and these sites promise grand designs and outcomes for the low, low, price of less than…